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Home » The Psychological Assault on German American Consciousness in Chicago during World War One Part II

The Psychological Assault on German American Consciousness in Chicago during World War One Part II

Part II: When a British ocean liner, the Lusitania, went down in 1915 with the loss of 1,198 lives including 128 Americans after being torpedoed by a German U boat in the Irish Sea, the entire nation erupted in a frenzied uproar, and Chicago’s Germans were further forced onto the defensive. Most, it seemed, were cognizant by now that arguing the German side of any issue concerning the war had become futile, especially now that American lives had been sacrificed. It was only too apparent by now that American bankers were financing the Allied war effort. Furthermore, the US government was allowing the British navy to blockade German and other neutral trade to the United States, while at the same time permitting trade and monetary support by American manufacturers to the Allies to circumvent the spirit of “Wilsonian neutrality.